Dr. Seuss - Yooks and the Zooks

Guest Author - Taisha Turner

Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) writer and illustrator of The Butter Battle Book. The picture book is about the Yooks and the Zooks. It contains fifty-six pages. The target readers’ ages are four through eight-years-old, but it is appropriate for all ages.

Dr. Seuss uses his humorous rhymes and whimsical characters to teach children valuable lessons about war. War can start for silly reasons. He teaches children not to dislike others because of differences. Also, he teaches kids how tit-for-tat violence can escalate to dangerous proportions.

This story in rhyme starts with the Yooks and Zooks. They live on opposite sides of a wall. Their dislike for each other is based on how each group butters their bread. One group butters the top-side and the other butters the bottom-side. To force their views on the other and have superior power, they build bigger weapons. This continues until both sides have a bomb which will not only kill the citizens on the other side, but their own citizens, too.

Many adults view The Butter Battle Book as a commentary on the Cold War. The United States of America and the Soviet Union (Russia) had a continuous build up of weaponry. The two nations built bombs capable of not only destroying each other, but the world.

Parents of young children can use the Yooks and the Zooks characters to teach tolerance. Also, use The Butter Battle Book to teach kids correct behavior in school and on the playground. Fighting is not necessary. Today’s children allow violence to escalate to guns.

High School teachers can incorporate The Butter Battle Book in a history lesson. Dr. Suess’s rhymes will capture their attention. They will learn a lesson about past wars and gain insight into current events.